

**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.**



On the roster: Trump stokes racial resentment to hinder Biden’s rise - The birth of the Butti-bundlers - Want more Halftime Report? - Dems cook debate drawing to ensure no ‘undercard’ - You wouldn’t leave a Monet on the front porch either



TRUMP STOKES RACIAL RESENTMENT TO HINDER BIDEN’S RISE

N.Y. Post: “President Trump wrapped up his four-day trip to Japan, and quickly turned his attention back to domestic politics — ripping Joe Biden for backing a tough 1994 crime bill that was prompted by the crack epidemic and other violence. ‘Anyone associated with the 1994 Crime Bill will not have a chance of being elected. In particular, African Americans will not be able [sic] to vote for you. I, on the other hand, was responsible for Criminal Justice Reform, which had tremendous support, and helped fix the bad 1994 Bill!’ Trump tweeted as he prepared to head back to DC. … The bill was originally written by Biden when he was a senator from Delaware and then was passed by Congress with bipartisan support — 235-195 in the House and 61-38 in the Senate — and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.”



Where are the folks? - Politico: “He’s dominating in the polls, his fundraising is going gangbusters and he’s showing broad support from key political players in the early presidential states. So where are the big energetic crowds, the lines around the block to get into Joe Biden’s events? The question is no small matter in a party still recovering from a bitter 2016 defeat — a loss marked by a lack of enthusiasm for an establishment nominee in several critical states. Attendance at the former vice president’s launch rally paled next to some of his rivals. In his first Iowa visit, he didn’t match the crowds that greeted Elizabeth Warren or even the less well-known Pete Buttigieg in their initial visits. So far, he’s kept his events to smaller venues where there’s little danger of empty seats. In the eyes of Biden’s progressive critics — as well as President Donald Trump, who has publicly mocked him for it — the seeming lack of excitement or teeming masses at his events is a leading indicator of a lack of passion for his candidacy.”



THE BIRTH OF THE BUTTI-BUNDLERS

Politico: “Pete Buttigieg is aiming to shake the Democratic presidential race with a massive fundraising total this quarter, staking his claim in the top tier of the primary and demonstrating staying power after rocketing to prominence two months ago. Buttigieg is encouraging moneyed supporters to juice his campaign’s fundraising with a new bundling program, details of which were recently circulated to some donors and obtained by POLITICO. Members at different levels of the program pledge to raise anywhere from $25,000 to $250,000 for Buttigieg over the course of the primary campaign and receive special perks, including briefings with the candidate and senior campaign staff. Buttigieg is asking supporters who join the program to bring in half of their total fundraising commitment by the end of next month…”



Facing elimination, Booker and Gillibrand look to Iowa - Bloomberg: “Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand raced across Iowa over Memorial Day weekend, seeking to keep their campaigns alive and distinguish themselves in a crowded field of Democratic candidates. … The stakes are high for both Gillibrand and Booker as they try to avoid being relegated to also-ran status when the Democratic debates begin next month. The next few weeks could be critical for the two East Coast senators as they try to light a fire with voters and donors. … Booker traveled across the state in a rented RV… His pitch: the country needs more ‘love’ and unity in campaigns and government… For Gillibrand, the most immediate challenge is to reach the threshold of 65,000 donors needed to participate in the Democratic candidate debates. Her campaign has made ‘huge progress’ and was ‘very close’ to meeting the donor goal, she said in an interview in Waterloo on Friday.”



Beto: ‘I was a giant a**hole’ - Daily Beast: “The night of Tuesday, May 28, the documentary Running With Beto will premiere on HBO—and, in the eyes of the Beto 2020 camp, hopefully inject some energy into his presidential campaign. Directed by David Modigliani, the film, which premiered at SXSW, provides a fly-on-the-wall look at then-Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke’s recent run for Senate in his home state of Texas… In the doc, Beto comes off as charismatic yet controlling—its most revealing moments being ones where he is seen dressing down his clearly overworked staff for their perceived lack of preparedness. The person on the receiving end of most of the scoldings is Cynthia Cano, his road manager. … ‘I know I was a giant a**hole to be around sometimes, and you all never allowed my shortcomings to get in the way of running the best campaign this state has ever seen.’ With that, the camera cuts to Cano, who gives a knowing look.



Trying to work his way back into contention - New Yorker: “Since that initial rush, however, O’Rourke has steadily sunk into the morass of a race with nearly two dozen candidates. His standing in the polls has tumbled to sixth place. A media consensus seems to have formed that he is a handsome lightweight, an entitled child of privilege who has ‘failed up’ all his life. While O’Rourke has been assailed for a variety of flaws—gaffes, inexperience, tactical errors—Pete Buttigieg, the thirty-seven-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has displaced him as the fresh young face. O’Rourke, unfazed, carries on with his upbeat, heavily scheduled, literally hard-driving run. By mid-May, according to his staff, he had driven more than six thousand miles, through fourteen states, held more than a hundred and fifty town-hall meetings, visited thirty-two college campuses, and answered more than a thousand questions.”



Bernie’s Cold War hangover - New York Magazine: “A week ago, the New York Times reported on Bernie Sanders’s 1980s-vintage foreign-policy stands, which at times crossed over from mere opposition to American policy to outright support for communist governments. Sanders initially refused to speak with the reporters, but after the article appeared, he called one of them and gave an extremely crusty interview. Now he has a video framing the issue, which he says is about ‘my opposition to war’ and refusal to apologize for his opinions. Any politician is going to frame issues selectively, but Sanders is presenting a spin on the controversy so selective it completely fails to convey any of the points relevant to the controversy.”



THE RULEBOOK: GET REAL, PEOPLE

“Is it not time to awake from the deceitful dream of a golden age, and to adopt as a practical maxim for the direction of our political conduct that we, as well as the other inhabitants of the globe, are yet remote from the happy empire of perfect wisdom and perfect virtue?” –Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 6



TIME OUT: THE FIRST MEMORIAL DAY

History: “When Charleston fell and Confederate troops evacuated the badly damaged city, freed slaves remained. One of the first things those emancipated men and women did was to give the fallen Union prisoners a proper burial. They exhumed the mass grave and reinterred the bodies in a new cemetery with a tall whitewashed fence inscribed with the words: ‘Martyrs of the Race Course.’ And then on May 1, 1865, something even more extraordinary happened. According to two reports that Blight found in The New York Tribune and The Charleston Courier, a crowd of 10,000 people, mostly freed slaves with some white missionaries, staged a parade around the race track. Three thousand black schoolchildren carried bouquets of flowers and sang ‘John Brown’s Body.’ Members of the famed 54th Massachusetts and other black Union regiments were in attendance and performed double-time marches. Black ministers recited verses from the Bible.”



Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.



SCOREBOARD

Trump job performance

Average approval: 41.6 percent

Average disapproval: 53.2 percent

Net Score: -11.6 points

Change from one week ago: down 4.2 points

[Average includes: CBS News: 41% approve - 52% disapprove; Monmouth University: 41% approve - 52% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve - 57% disapprove; Fox News: 46% approve - 53% disapprove; Gallup: 42% approve - 52% disapprove.]



WANT MORE HALFTIME REPORT?

You can join Chris and Brianna every day on Fox Nation. Go behind-the-scenes of your favorite political note as they go through the must-read headlines of the day right from their office – with plenty of personality. Click here to sign up and watch!



DEMS COOK DEBATE DRAWING TO ENSURE NO ‘UNDERCARD’

Politico: “A new rule adopted by the Democratic National Committee and NBC News will evenly divide top-tier candidates across two nights in the first Democratic presidential primary debates in June, a move to maintain viewer interest in both events by making sure well-known contenders are on stage both nights. Democrats getting at least 2 percent support in the polling average will be randomly and evenly split between the two nights, which will each feature 10 candidates, according to the formula obtained by POLITICO. Candidates below that threshold will also be evenly and randomly divided between the two debate lineups. ‘The final list of debate participants (after any tie-breaking procedure is executed, if necessary) will be divided into two groups: candidates with a polling average of 2% or above, and those with a polling average below 2%,’ the rule reads. ‘Both groups will be randomly divided between Wednesday night and Thursday night, thus ensuring that both groups are represented fairly on each night.’ The rule will not keep any two candidates from appearing onstage together. But it will prevent random chance from loading one night with polling leaders and the other night with less well-known presidential candidates.”



SENATE GOP WARNS HOUSE DEMS: IMPEACHMENT A GONER

The Hill: “GOP senators say that if the House passes articles of impeachment against President Trump they will quickly quash them in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has broad authority to set the parameters of a trial. While McConnell is required to act on articles of impeachment, which require 67 votes — or a two-thirds majority — to convict the president, he and his Republican colleagues have the power to set the rules and ensure the briefest of trials. ‘I think it would be disposed of very quickly,’ said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). … Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to McConnell’s leadership team, said ‘nothing’ would come of impeachment articles passed by the House. Given the Senate GOP firewall, Cornyn, who’s also a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he doubts that Democrats will commence the impeachment process.”



PLAY-BY-PLAY

Supremes punt on Roe v. Wade test case - LAT



Rep. Duncan Hunter sticks up for SEAL accused of war crimes - AP



Texas secretary of state forced from office over botched voter purge - WaPo



Now 40 percent of Americans think Trump has the character to be president - Gallup



Trump builds out legal team - Reuters



A hefty donation to Trump’s inaugural comes under scrutiny - AP



AUDIBLE: YAY?

“I don’t think that’s fatal but we’re going to keep going.” – Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., talking to Politico about his 2020 presidential campaign continuing even if he doesn’t meet the threshold for the first debate in June.



FROM THE BLEACHERS

“Thank you for your thoughtful evocation and encomium in reference to Peter Jackson's brilliant and astonishing work in ‘They Shall Grow Old.’ All the soldiers of the Great War deserve our attention and our thoughts, not merely on Memorial Day, but always. It has become something of a commonplace that the action that began in August, 1914 did not really end until August, 1945. A few even feel it did not end until December, 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed. The 20th Century witnessed great violence in the struggles for and against the soul crushing efforts of Communism, Fascism, Nazism and militarism. It was only the idealism, valor and strength of men like those seen and speaking in Jackson's film that carried the day for real human values. They paid an extraordinary price to preserve an extraordinary treasure. Thank you for seeing and speaking of that great sacrifice.” – Bill Rhoades, Tierra Amarilla, N.M.



[Ed. note: You said it, Mr. Rhoades!]



“Dear Chris and Brianna, I find it difficult to describe how deeply ‘THE TORCH; BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH’ touched my heart. It inspired me to write down some memories surrounding my maternal grandparents to share with my family. … It is with great pride that I also tell you that, since my Grandfather, three generations in my family with Riendeau as their last or middle name have served in the U.S. Army: my mother, as a nurse in WW II, my youngest brother in Desert Storm, and his youngest son, in the Maryland National Guard. Today, my youngest brother's oldest son (a Marine) also has a son. He carries Riendeau as his middle name. He turned 9 this month, and I hope to live long enough to be there when he enlists.” – Guy Goodwin, Lecanto, Fla.



[Ed. note: I’d say you’re in very good company, Mr. Goodwin. A proud tradition shared by so many American families. We will not forget their service or sacrifice.]



“Dear sir, I have read almost all of your Halftime Reports. Some have even moved me to write to you with a comment or two. This report is a masterpiece. No other words are necessary except THANK YOU for the pleasure I have had reading it.” – Mary Frederickson, Canyon, Texas



[Ed. note: Dear madam, Thank you for saying so. Almost nothing makes me happier than pleasing our readers. I really love you people.]



“Chris, Your lead-in editorial today on Memorial Day was touching. Having served for 29 years and studied history, I get it. What worries me is our school systems are not teaching this to our children. Too many of our citizens don't get it. Too many of our new residents don't care to get it. I'm sure you can tell me who said this first, but it applies: Those of us who do not remember our history are doomed to repeat it. As always, thanks for the Halftime Report.” – DJ Jowers, Littleton, Mass.



[Ed. note: You’re looking for George Santayana, the Spanish-American philosopher, who wrote in “The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress,” a five-volume tome published in 1905: “Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I have been thinking very much of late about Santayana’s caution about perpetual infancy. We are forgetting so many hard lessons paid for with the blood and sacrifices of previous generations. As we look at bullies and strongmen on the rise around the globe and see our own system frayed and tattered it becomes quite clear that we have forgotten many of the terrible lessons of the 20th century already. I pray that we will need less correction this time.]



Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.



YOU WOULDN’T LEAVE A MONET ON THE FRONT PORCH EITHER

WTOP: “You can probably bet that whoever took the Coca-Cola machine that sat outside a convenience store in Culpeper County, Virginia, didn’t do it for the change jingling around inside. A Coke machine with a picture of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. on it has been stolen from the Winston Store along U.S. 522 South in Culpeper County. The machine was taken on Tuesday, May 21. A post on the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page asks for the public’s help in the case. Earnhardt’s aggressive driving style earned him the nickname The Intimidator — and one person commenting on the sheriff’s office post said ‘whoever took it, took it fast and probably put that thing against the wall a few times.’ Considered one of the best NASCAR drivers of all time, Earnhardt Sr. died in 2001 at the age of 49 in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500.”



AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…

“No, the real problem with baseball is the decline in interest. Nobody talks about it. At the water cooler, in bars, on sports-talk radio, the chat is about the NFL draft, NBA rookies, and the NCAA finals. The ‘hot stove league’ is a concept so hoary that most youngsters don't even know what it is, or was.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in The Weekly Standard on April 13, 1998.



Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.