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On the roster: Biden and Trump square off in Iowa - Time Out: Funny face frog - Gillibrand secures debate spot - A deal on subpoenas, for now - *ahem* Nailed it



BIDEN AND TRUMP SQUARE OFF IN IOWA

AP: “Democrat Joe Biden is assailing President Donald Trump on trade and broadly branding him as ‘existential threat to America’ in a preview of what the country might expect if he prevails in his party’s primary contest. The president, also coming to Iowa on Tuesday, was likely to have some choice words in response. Biden was expected to zero in on the economy … during a speech in Davenport, a center of eastern Iowa’s agricultural manufacturing industry. … Though the Democratic nomination is early and fluid, the visits to Iowa offer a glimpse into what a Trump-Biden matchup would look like if the former vice president wins the nomination. Even before they landed in the state on Tuesday, it was clear the fight would be tough. Trump and Biden have been circling each other for months. Despite the private counsel of his advisers, Trump has thrown a steady stream of public insults at Biden. Since March, Trump has mocked or criticized Biden on Twitter nearly 40 times.”



Biden pulling no punches - ABC News: “Biden will make his second trip to Iowa since announcing his presidential run back in April, making his pitch to voters during three events Tuesday across eastern Iowa. … One thing is abundantly clear about Biden’s message this time around: He plans to address being in the same state as Trump head on. ‘You know, Donald Trump and I are both in Iowa today. It wasn’t planned that way, but I hope Trump’s presence here will be a clarifying event,’ Biden wrote in prepared remarks for his event in Davenport, which will take place while the president attends a fundraiser for the Iowa GOP party. Biden’s remarks, released early by the campaign, mark some of Biden’s most pointed attacks of the president -- mentioning his name 44 times, and hitting Trump for his tariff policy and the impact it has on Iowa farmers and manufacturers. … Biden also plans to hit Trump for his health care policy and denial of climate change.”



Iowa Dems owly over Biden’s slow roll - Politico: “When he first launched his presidential bid in April, Joe Biden promised he’d visit Iowa so often the state would be sick of him. They’re still waiting. After making just four appearances during a two-day swing here in late April, Biden has been AWOL from a key early state that’s accustomed to seeing presidential candidates in the flesh. … ‘He needs to come out and do some retail politics with us. He comes here with higher name ID but that isn’t going to totally carry the day. I don’t think he can take anything for granted,’ said former Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge. ‘I don’t think Bernie Sanders can take anything for granted either … We have some people who are working really hard here.’”



Trump to make Biden his target - NYT: “Mr. Biden seems to have gotten into the president’s head — at least for now. And on Tuesday, the president will engage with him, if indirectly, for the first time during the 2020 campaign when they both make appearances in Iowa. Mr. Trump’s visit to an ethanol plant in Council Bluffs is an official White House event. But campaign aides see it, as well as a later appearance at a Republican dinner, as an opportunity to both troll Mr. Biden and invigorate a candidate who needs an identifiable opponent to keep his interest and who has been alternately engrossed in and detached from his re-election effort.”



The president’s visit will boost endangered Dem - Des Moines Register: “U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne will appear with President Donald Trump in Iowa this week. Axne will join Trump on Tuesday for a tour of a renewable energy facility in Council Bluffs, according to a news release from the Democratic representative's office. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is also expected to join the tour of Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, according to the governor's office. It's unclear whether the three will appear together. Axne, a West Des Moines business owner, is expected to thank Trump for finalizing year-round access to E15, which is gasoline with higher blends of ethanol. … Axne's office said she will also thank Trump for signing a roughly $19 billion disaster aid package that has money for Iowa communities impacted by flooding.”



THE RULEBOOK: TRUE DAT

“Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 10



TIME OUT: FUNNY FACE FROG

National Geographic: “In the mountainous forests of New Guinea, scientists have described a new kind of tree frog whose males sport a single, fleshy spike on their nose. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the northern Pinocchio frog. Paul Oliver, a herpetologist at the Queensland Museum and Griffith University in Australia, actually discovered these curious-looking amphibians on a field expedition back in 2008, while he and his crew were hiding from the rain in Indonesia’s Foja Mountains. He happened to look over and spot the mottled green, brown, and yellow frog sitting atop a bag of rice. ‘You could say it found us, rather than we found it,’ says Oliver… Now, Oliver and his colleagues are hard at work trying to figure out what that adorable little schnozzes are for. ‘What is particularly striking is that it is erectile,’ Oliver says in an email. ‘At times it sticks out quite straight, while at other times it droops downward.’”



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SCOREBOARD

Trump job performance

Average approval: 41.6 percent

Average disapproval: 51.8 percent

Net Score: -10.2 points

Change from one week ago: up 2 points

[Average includes: IBD: 42% approve - 52% disapprove; NPR/PBS/Marist: 43% approve - 49% disapprove; CNN: 43% approve - 53% disapprove; CNBC: 40% approve - 50% disapprove; Gallup: 40% approve - 55% disapprove.]



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GILLIBRAND SECURES DEBATE SPOT

Politico: “Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) campaign announced she has received donations from 65,000 supporters, practically securing a spot on the first Democratic presidential primary debate stage at the end of June. ‘Over the weekend, we crossed 65,000 donors to our campaign—guaranteeing our spot at the first debates,’ Gillibrand tweeted Monday afternoon. ‘I'm so grateful to everyone who's helping power this campaign. We have a lot more work to do in the months to come, but for now: Thank you.’ … Gillibrand had long ago crossed the polling threshold to qualify for the first debate. But hitting the donor threshold shores up her spot on the debate stage, because candidates who have crossed both thresholds take priority over candidates who only crossed one. The Gillibrand campaign confirmed to POLITICO that she has also received 200 donors in 20 states. She joins 13 other candidates who have ‘double qualified’ for the debate stage, according to a POLITICO analysis: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang.”



DNC will draw debate lottery on Friday - The Hill: “A lottery to determine where candidates are placed on stage in the first Democratic presidential debate will take place Friday morning at NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffers told representatives from the presidential campaigns of the plan to hold the lottery at NBC during a logistics call last week, according to three sources with knowledge of the call. The campaigns have been invited to send representatives to witness the drawing. Results will be announced right after the drawing is held. Spokespeople at the DNC and NBC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Candidates and their campaigns have until Wednesday to qualify for the debates…”



Buttigieg to unveil foreign policy platform - Politico: “Facing questions on the trail about whether his campaign has put forward enough big ideas, Pete Buttigieg plans to make one area his own: foreign policy. The South Bend, Ind., mayor will give a major address on his national security and foreign policy platform Tuesday morning at Indiana University, delving into details on a policy front that offers presidents wide latitude but which has gotten relatively little attention from Democratic 2020 candidates so far. It could be a standout issue for Buttigieg, a former Navy intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan and is the only veteran polling in the top half of the Democratic presidential primary. And it’s also a topic that Buttigieg can frame in general election terms by contrasting himself with President Donald Trump, whom Buttigieg has criticized for ‘making up a disability’ to get out of serving during the Vietnam War.”



A DEAL ON SUBPOENAS, FOR NOW

ABC News: “The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, said on Monday he has reached a deal with the Department of Justice on turning over evidence from special counsel Robert Mueller related to the investigation into what could be obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump. ‘I am pleased to announce that the Department of Justice has agreed to begin complying with our committee's subpoena by opening Robert Mueller’s most important files to us, providing us with key evidence that the Special Counsel used to assess whether the President and others obstructed justice or were engaged in other misconduct,’ Nadler said in a statement. ‘The Department will share the first of these documents with us later today. All members of the Judiciary Committee—Democrats and Republicans alike—will be able to view them. … Given our conversations with the Department, I will hold the criminal contempt process in abeyance for now,’ Nadler said.”



Pelosi, Nadler at odds over impeachment - Politico: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, two longtime allies, are clashing over whether to begin an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump — a sign of how toxic the split over Trump has become for House Democrats. … Tuesday, though, will feature a key step that all Democrats can agree on: The full House will vote on empowering committee chairs to enforce subpoenas issued to top current and former Trump administration officials, including Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn. The resolution will, in part, allow the Judiciary Committee to sue Barr and McGahn in federal court to secure former special counsel Robert Mueller’s unredacted report and underlying evidence from his Russia investigation, as well as McGahn’s public testimony.”



Amash quits House Freedom Caucus - Fox News: “Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash announced Monday evening he is leaving the influential conservative House Freedom Caucus, just weeks after he attracted the ire of his colleagues by arguing in Twitter posts that President Trump had committed impeachable offenses, Fox News has learned. Amash, speaking at a Freedom Caucus board meeting, insisted his departure was voluntary. Amash said he did not want to continue to be a ‘further distraction’ for the caucus, which is chaired by North Carolina GOP Rep. Mark Meadows.”



PLAY-BY-PLAY

Jessica Melugin: Conservatives ought to tread carefully on government regulation of social media - Fox News



Pelosi still hasn’t called Mark Zuckerberg back - WaPo



Report: Jon Huntsman to return from Russia, considering run for governor in Utah - Atlantic



Check out the walk out song playlist from the Iowa Democrats Hall of Fame campaign on Sunday - Time



AUDIBLE: AWWWWWW…

“I didn't have a very good, positive self-image. So if people want to take selfies with me, I think it's a compliment.” – Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper discussing his difficulty with self-image during childhood and taking photos now as a presidential candidate.



FROM THE BLEACHERS

“Here's a funny note about Bob's house. Soon after completion, Bob was a guest on the Tonight Show and Johnny asked him how he liked it. Hope said it was great but a beautiful skylight in the living room sustained damage in a severe storm and he was having trouble getting paid on the insurance claim. When Carson pressed him for details, Hope replied, ‘I have these people,’ cupping his hands in the Allstate symbol, ‘but they're only giving me one finger.’” – Gary Cimino, Millville, N.J.



[Ed. note: Hey-o!]



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*AHEM* NAILED IT

KYTV: “‘I kind of drove slow, I could feel it leaning on the side,’ [Missouri motorist Mike Sandknop] recalled. ‘As soon as I pulled in at my parent's house, it was completely flat.’ Flat because of a reflector from the roadway that was nailed down. That nail, [was] now in Sandknop's tire. … Typically, the reflectors aren't nailed to the road. They usually use an adhesive and stick to the roadway to mark lane lines. But, the reflectors wouldn't stick. It rained the night crews put them on the road. They tried again the next night, but they still didn't stay. ‘So, the contractor decided we needed to nail them down to keep the tabs, to keep the reflectors there,’ said Nick Edelman, Osage Beach Public Works Director. That worked. But, the city has had five different people call them to report the nails had given them a flat tire.”



AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…

“The wall/fence will, of course, be ugly. So are the barriers to keep truck bombs from driving into the White House. Sometimes function has to supersede form.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) speaking in a video for Prager U on June 19, 2017.



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.