Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Arthur Vandenberg (R-Mich.) inserted the term into the lexicon in 1947 as he converted from isolationist to internationalist. In the wake of World War II, he backed up Harry Truman on the formation of institutions that remain critical to American security, including NATO.

Seven decades later, the country that pulled the United States into that war by attacking Pearl Harbor is an indispensable ally. Visiting Tokyo this weekend, President Trump repeatedly ripped Joe Biden, who leads in the early polls of Democrats vying to replace him. He even sought to weaponize Kim Jong Un against the former vice president, tweeting that he appreciated recent propaganda put out by North Korean state media.

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When pressed about seeming to choose a brutal dictator over a fellow American, Trump doubled down. “Well, Kim Jong Un made a statement that Joe Biden is a low-IQ individual,” he said during a news conference on Monday, standing beside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “He probably is, based on his record. I think I agree with him on that.”

Back home, the attacks on Trump from the left certainly did not abate while he was overseas. Foreign policy has become a more salient issue for Democratic primary voters in the wake of the recent saber rattling toward Iran. Several of the candidates have responded by adding language into their stump speeches to criticize the Trump administration’s escalation in the Middle East.

Strikingly, the trio of military veterans seeking the Democratic nomination have deployed the most searing attacks on this front. They used Memorial Day weekend to emphasize that Trump did not serve during Vietnam by claiming, dubiously, that he had bone spurs in his feet.

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-- Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) repeatedly and explicitly questioned Trump’s patriotism over Memorial Day weekend. “We’ve had presidents who were immoral, backwards and had terrible policies. We’ve had presidents who were criminals. I don’t think we’ve ever had a president who is so fundamentally unpatriotic,” Moulton told Anderson Cooper last night on CNN. “Even Richard Nixon served his country and was proud to do so. This president is much more interested in siding with dictators, if it’s good for his ratings. And that’s pretty pathetic for the commander in chief.”

On Sunday night, Moulton contrasted Trump with John F. Kennedy — the last man from Massachusetts to win the presidency. “He used his father’s connections to get medically cleared when he probably shouldn’t have been cleared,” Moulton told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt. “I don’t think that lying to get out of serving your country is patriotic. It’s not like there was just some empty seat in Vietnam. Someone had to go in his place. I’d like to meet the American hero who went in Donald Trump’s place to Vietnam. I hope he’s still alive.”

-- Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., accused Trump of faking a disability to avoid military service. “If he were a conscientious objector, I'd admire that,” he told Bob Costa during a Washington Post Live event on Thursday. “But this is somebody who, I think it’s fairly obvious to most of us, took advantage of the fact that he was a child of a multimillionaire in order to pretend to be disabled so that somebody could go to war in his place. I know that that drudges up old wounds from a complicated time during a complicated war, but I'm also old enough to remember when conservatives talked about character as something that mattered in the presidency. And, so, I think it deserves to be talked about.”

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ABC’s Martha Raddatz pointed out on “This Week,” the Sunday show, that the mayor made this comment at about the same time the president was visiting Arlington National Cemetery to honor the fallen. Buttigieg was unapologetic. “You have somebody who thinks it's all right to let somebody go in his place into a deadly war and is willing to pretend to be disabled in order to do it,” he said. “That is an assault on the honor of this country.”

-- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) has made antiwar messaging the centerpiece of her campaign, which has failed to get traction. “Memorial Day is a time to remember that war should only be waged as a very last resort to keep the American people safe,” she said on Monday, per ABC. “So nothing angers me more than the hypocrisy exhibited every Memorial Day by warmongering politicians and media pundits feigning sympathy for those who paid the ultimate price in service to our country, while simultaneously advocating for more counterproductive regime change wars and the new Cold War and arms race.”

-- “These baseless attacks from 2020 Democrats are rooted in desperation,” emailed Kayleigh McEnany, the national press secretary for Trump’s reelection campaign. “As commander in chief, President Trump has the utmost respect for the sacrifice our military men and women have made to keep our nation safe. He has continually made every effort to honor our troops and veterans from fixing the VA healthcare crisis to increasing our military budget.”

-- After ordering an additional 1,500 U.S. troops to the Middle East at the end of last week, Trump insisted in Tokyo on Monday that he’s “not looking for regime change” in Tehran. “We’re looking for no nuclear weapons,” he said.

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-- That comment followed a weekend of intense criticism from other 2020 Democrats, who didn’t serve in the military, that Trump is not living up to his 2016 rhetoric about getting out of “endless wars.” Former congressman Beto O’Rourke (Tex.) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Trump is “provoking yet another war in the Middle East.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke at length about his opposition to foreign entanglements during a rally outside the State House in Vermont on Saturday. “Right now, I am doing everything that I can to prevent Donald Trump and John Bolton from taking us into a war with Iran — a war which would be much worse than the war in Iraq and could lead, literally, to perpetual warfare in the region,” Sanders said.

-- Four years ago, in 2015, Scott Walker refused to directly criticize Barack Obama during an appearance at a think tank in London. The then-Wisconsin governor was running for the GOP nomination. “I don’t think it’s wise to undermine the president of your own country” while abroad, he explained. “When you’re in a foreign country, to me, I defer to the president, even though I don’t always believe in the same things as he does politically. … I just don’t think you talk about foreign policy when you’re on foreign soil. … Maybe it is a bit old-fashioned.”

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To be sure, that same year, all but a handful of Republican senators signed on to an open letter by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to the leaders of Iran warning that they shouldn’t count on the U.S. abiding by any nuclear deal that Obama might negotiate. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to give a speech to a joint meeting of Congress opposing the Iran agreement.

There are examples of politicians going even further. Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign notoriously thwarted peace talks to end the Vietnam War, for example. But he always paid lip service to the idea that politics should stop at the water’s edge.

In 2012, Mitt Romney slammed Obama after the then-president was caught on a hot mic during a summit in South Korea telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would have more “flexibility” to negotiate once he was reelected. John Boehner, who was speaker of the House, chastised Romney. “While the president is overseas,” Boehner said, “I think it’s appropriate that people not be critical of him or our country.”

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-- For his part, Obama tried to avoid domestic politics when he was overseas, but sometimes he still wandered into the thicket. He was criticized in May 2016 for saying during a news conference at the conclusion of the G-7 summit, coincidentally in Japan, that world leaders he met with were “surprised” Trump had won the GOP nomination. “They’re rattled by it — and for good reason,” Obama said, “because a lot of the proposals that he’s made display either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude.”

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:

-- The Supreme Court agreed this morning to a compromise on a restrictive Indiana abortion law that keeps the issue off its docket for now. Robert Barnes reports: “The court said a part of the law dealing with disposal of the ‘remains’ of an abortion could go into effect. But it did not take up a part of the law stricken by lower courts that prohibited abortions because tests revealed an abnormality. The court indicated it would wait for other courts to weigh in before taking up that issue. The Indiana law at question was signed by Vice President Pence when he was governor of the state.”

GET SMART FAST:​​

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Texas Secretary of State David Whitley resigned after a short term shrouded by scandal over his botched attempts to purge the voter rolls of noncitizens. Whitley, who was appointed in mid-December, oversaw the failed review that flagged about 98,000 voters for citizenship checks. (Texas Tribune) The first state trial aimed at tackling the opioid epidemic begins today in Oklahoma. Families that have lost loved ones to opioid overdoses see a chance to hold drug companies accountable after years of waiting for recompense. The state has already settled with Purdue Pharma for $270 million, and Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay Oklahoma $85 million this weekend. ( Families that have lost loved ones to opioid overdoses see a chance to hold drug companies accountable after years of waiting for recompense. The state has already settled with Purdue Pharma for $270 million, and Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay Oklahoma $85 million this weekend. ( Lenny Bernstein The lawyer for a Nazi sympathizer who pleaded guilty to defacing an Indiana synagogue, and setting its yard on fire, said far-right media played a role in radicalizing him. Nolan Brewer’s lawyer said the 21-year-old man was influenced by his wife and the conservative writings she read online, including articles by Ben Shapiro and content published on the white supremacist site Stormfront. (Katie Mettler) At least 19 people were stabbed just outside Tokyo after a man carrying two knives waded into a group of schoolgirls and began attacking them one by one. One child and an adult died at the crowded bus stop during Tuesday morning rush hour. (Simon Denyer) At least 42 people were shot throughout Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. Five of the victims died as severe storms kept people indoors and an additional 1,200 officers patrolled the streets. (Chicago Tribune) Multiple tornadoes, including one described as “large and destructive,” touched down near Dayton, Ohio, late last night, injuring several, causing extensive damage and leaving about 5 million people without power throughout the state. (Timothy Bella) Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg will not comply with a Canadian subpoena, which could result in them being held in contempt by the country’s Parliament. Both executives were summoned to the Canadian Parliament in relation to an international committee reviewing Silicon Valley’s impact on privacy and democracy. (CNN) Nepalese officials are considering changes to how they regulate access to Mount Everest after recent climbing deaths. Crowding on the world’s tallest mountain appears to be contributing to the highest number of fatalities in recent years, as delays have forced climbers to spend more time at dangerous altitudes. ( Crowding on the world’s tallest mountain appears to be contributing to the highest number of fatalities in recent years, as delays have forced climbers to spend more time at dangerous altitudes. ( Ankit Adhikari and Joanna Slater The National Museum of American History is wrapping up a months-long project to digitize 18,000 of its old political and military posters. Three Smithsonian object handlers have been working since December to digitize more than 200 posters a day, a project they hope will increase awareness of little-known historical figures. (Michael E. Ruane) After much debate, Illinois legislators advanced a constitutional amendment that would end the state’s flat income tax, thus raising taxes for its richest residents as part of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to stabilize the state’s finances. The amendment is now poised to appear on the ballot in 2020, and, if passed, the new legislation is expected to raise more than $3 billion annually while leaving rates lower or unchanged for 97 percent of taxpayers. (Bloomberg News) French carmaker Renault is considering merging with Fiat Chrysler. With the potential global partnership, both companies aim to improve their chances of surviving the shift to electric and self-driving cars. (New York Times) Biographer Edmund Morris died at 78. Morris polarized readers by writing a biography of Ronald Reagan that featured several fictional characters. ( Morris polarized readers by writing a biography of Ronald Reagan that featured several fictional characters. ( Harrison Smith Former major league first baseman and outfielder Bill Buckner died at 69 after battling dementia. He won a batting title with the Chicago Cubs in 1980 but was best remembered for the error he committed in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series while playing for the Boston Red Sox. ( He won a batting title with the Chicago Cubs in 1980 but was best remembered for the error he committed in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series while playing for the Boston Red Sox. ( Scott Allen A marketing and brand development company bought Sports Illustrated’s licensing rights for $110 million. The company, Authentic Brands Group, will license the magazine’s brand and all of its content in an unusual partnership that could lead to SI-branded sports camps or athletic equipment. ( The company, Authentic Brands Group, will license the magazine’s brand and all of its content in an unusual partnership that could lead to SI-branded sports camps or athletic equipment. ( Ben Strauss

THE NEW WORLD ORDER:

-- Green parties are cheering E.U. election results that vaulted them into a kingmaking position as voters abandoned traditional parties in favor of climate-focused activists in a green wave that swept several countries. Michael Birnbaum, Griff Witte and James McAuley report: “The results propelled the Greens into second place in Germany and third place in France and elsewhere, amid a surge in excitement from young voters who faulted old-school parties for ignoring their concerns about the environment and offering few alternatives for a generation beset by economic pain following the global financial crisis. In an election for the European Parliament in which far-right, ­anti-immigration buccaneers also gained modestly to post their best-ever result, the good showing for the Greens may have the bigger impact on policy. The center-left and center-right parties that long jointly ruled the parliament have lost their majority, meaning they will need to depend on Greens and other centrists to advance their agenda. The far right, meanwhile, captured about a quarter of the seats, up from a fifth — enough to entrench their angry voices of protest and cause trouble in the legislature, but not enough to actually enact an agenda.”

-- British voters embraced parties that took clear stances on Brexit. Karla Adam reports: “Nigel Farage’s single-issue Brexit Party was the clear winner of the elections, with the potential to impact the race over who becomes the next British prime minister. The pro-E.U. Liberal Democrats and the Greens — who also have a simple message on Brexit: Stop it — made significant gains as well. Overall, support for all the parties that are unabashedly pro-European was slightly higher than for those that are pushing for a hard Brexit. In other words, Britain is as divided as ever.”

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-- Defying his own advisers during his presser in Tokyo, Trump denied that North Korea had fired any ballistic missiles. Ashley Parker and Simon Denyer report: “Trump gave cover to Kim as he directly contradicted his national security adviser, John Bolton, as well as Abe, by arguing that Pyongyang had not launched ballistic missiles this month or violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. ‘My people think it could have been a violation,’ Trump said. ‘I view it differently.’ When pressed, the president added that he was not ‘personally’ bothered by North Korea’s short-range missile tests this month.”

— A new report from the United Nations Human Rights Office says that North Koreans are struggling to survive amid corruption and government crackdowns. Min Joo Kim reports: "The U.N. investigation showed how the rudimentary markets where North Korean people access basic necessities operate in a legal gray area, exposing them to threats of arbitrary arrest, detention and extortion. The report gathers testimonies from more than 200 North Koreans who fled to South Korea. … Many North Koreans seek a living through rudimentary markets, while paying bribes to get out of duties at official state-assigned jobs, according to the report. The uncertain legal environment surrounding the markets expose the merchants to arbitrary threats of detention and extortion and livelihoods depend on being able to bribe state officials.”

-- Israel’s parliament passed a motion to dissolve itself, putting at risk Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s next term. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party needs the country’s ultra-Orthodox parties to converge in order to assemble a 61-seat majority, but the parties are sparring over legislation to replace a military draft law. At the center of the issue is Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, and Israeli officials are now trying to get Trump to pressure him into backing Netanyahu. (Reuters)

-- China continues relentlessly cracking down on its Muslim populations. But Saudi Arabia remains quiet as it tries to strengthen its ties with Beijing. Anna Fifield and Kareem Fahim report: “Chinese authorities are bullying members of the Muslim minority Uighur community to eat and drink before sundown — in violation of Islamic rules for Ramadan — with the implicit threat of punishment if they do not, activists say. … But Muslim-majority nations have been almost entirely silent — apparently part of calculated policies to avoid angering China, despite widespread denunciations by the West and rights groups over the treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims. … During a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said that the kingdom ‘is willing to strengthen exchanges with China at all levels,’ the Xinhua News Agency reported. His son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, appeared to condone China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims when he visited China this year. ‘We respect and support China’s rights to take counterterrorism and de-extremism measures to safeguard national security,’ Chinese media quoted him as telling Xi.”

-- Chinese tourism to the U.S. fell 5.7 percent last year, marking the first time since 2003 that it slipped. From the AP’s Dee-Ann Durbin: “Last summer, China issued a travel warning for the U.S., telling its citizens to beware of shootings, robberies and high costs for medical care. The U.S. shot back with its own warning about travel to China. Wang Haixia, who works at an international trade company in Beijing, traveled to the U.S. in May for her sister’s graduation. She and her family planned to spend 10 days in Illinois and New York. Wang says she might have stayed longer but doesn’t want to contribute to the U.S. economy amid the trade war. ‘I cannot cancel this trip because I promised my sister I would go to her commencement,’ she said. ‘My relatives will contribute more than 100,000 yuan to America just staying for 10 days, and that’s enough.’”

-- Germans are being encouraged to wear Jewish yarmulkes in solidarity ahead of an anti-Israel protest scheduled for the weekend. From DW: “‘I call on all citizens of Berlin and across Germany to wear the yarmulke next Saturday if there are new, intolerable attacks targeting Israel and Jews on the occasion of Al-Quds Day in Berlin,’ Felix Klein said Monday. He also called on people to take part in pro-Israel rallies on the day instead. Al-Quds Day is an annual event held at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 in support of Palestinians and in opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, meaning holy. In previous years, the event has attracted a range of anti-Israel demonstrators including supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as neo-Nazis and supporters of conspiracy theories.”

-- Vandals attacked a Holocaust art installation in Vienna. From Agence France-Presse: “President Alexander Van der Bellen said he was ‘deeply worried’ over the assaults. The attack overnight Sunday was the third since the show by Italian-German photographer Luigi Toscano was installed in early May. Faces were cut out of around 80 portraits, an AFP photographer said. Over the past two weeks, others have been daubed with swastikas or slashed with knives. … Toscano said he was ‘devastated’ by the attack, the first on 13 such installations around the world. ‘There's been vandalism which hasn't been politically motivated, but nothing of this proportion,’ Toscano told AFP. ‘This is right-wing radicalism.’”

-- A family in Canberra, Australia, sued Venezuela, claiming the country owes them thousands in rent payments for a property of theirs it had previously used as an embassy. The family alleges that the South American country owes them more than $50,000 in rent. (ABC.net.au)

THE DOMESTIC AGENDA:

-- On the front page of today’s New York Times: “Trump Administration Hardens Its Attack on Climate Science,” by Coral Davenport and Mark Landler: “The attack on science is underway throughout the government. In the most recent example, the White House-appointed director of the United States Geological Survey, James Reilly, a former astronaut and petroleum geologist, has ordered that scientific assessments produced by that office use only computer-generated climate models that project the impact of climate change through 2040, rather than through the end of the century, as had been done previously. Scientists say that would give a misleading picture because the biggest effects of current emissions will be felt after 2040. Models show that the planet will most likely warm at about the same rate through about 2050. From that point until the end of the century, however, the rate of warming differs significantly with an increase or decrease in carbon emissions.

“The administration’s prime target has been the National Climate Assessment, produced by an interagency task force roughly every four years since 2000. Government scientists used computer-generated models in their most recent report to project that if fossil fuel emissions continue unchecked, the earth’s atmosphere could warm by as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. That would lead to drastically higher sea levels, more devastating storms and droughts, crop failures, food losses and severe health consequences. Work on the next report, which is expected to be released in 2021 or 2022, has already begun. But from now on, officials said, such worst-case scenario projections will not automatically be included in the National Climate Assessment or in some other scientific reports produced by the government.

“The goal of political appointees in the Trump administration is not just to change the climate assessment’s methodology, which has broad scientific consensus, but also to question its conclusions by creating a new climate review panel. That effort is led by a 79-year-old physicist who had a respected career at Princeton but has become better known in recent years for attacking the science of man-made climate change and for defending the virtues of carbon dioxide — sometimes to an awkward degree. ‘The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler,’ said the physicist, William Happer, who serves on the National Security Council as the president’s deputy assistant for emerging technologies.”

-- Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao still has shares in a construction-materials company she pledged to divest from a year ago. The Wall Street Journal’s Ted Mann and Brody Mullins report: “Shares of the company, Vulcan Materials Co., the country’s largest supplier of the crushed stone, sand and gravel used in road-paving and building, have risen nearly 13% since April 2018, the month in which Ms. Chao said she would be cashed out of the stock, netting her a more than $40,000 gain, corporate and government filings show. ... Ms. Chao’s 2017 ethics agreement, which she signed before her confirmation, said she would receive a cash payout in April 2018 in exchange for the deferred share units she earned while serving on the board, effectively severing her financial ties to the company. … A Department of Transportation spokesman said the ethics agreement was flawed, because Vulcan’s policy calls for directors’ deferred share units to be paid out in shares of company stock. A Vulcan spokesman confirmed the shares were paid to Ms. Chao last year. … The DOT’s top ethics official has determined that owning the shares doesn’t present a conflict of interest for Ms. Chao.”

-- Housing and Urban Development regional administrator Lynne Patton acknowledged she might have broken the Hatch Act, which prevents officials from using their government positions to advance political agendas. But she added she “honestly” does not care if she broke the law. HuffPost’s Nick Visser reports: “‘Just retweeted this amazing tweet from both of my Twitter accounts — professional and personal,’ Patton wrote on Facebook last week, pointing to a message that championed her boss, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, but was critical of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). ‘It may be a Hatch Act violation. It may not be.’ ‘Either way,’ she continued, ‘I honestly don’t care anymore.’ … Patton, who is paid an annual salary of $161,900, according to 2017 figures, is tasked with overseeing one of HUD’s largest regions with a budget in the billions of dollars. But when someone pointed out her potential lawbreaking, Patton doubled down on Sunday evening, mocking those critical of her as ‘lazy internet parrots’ and ‘liberal snowflakes’ on her personal Twitter account.”

-- While Trump and his administration, as well as the vast majority of Republicans in Congress, continue to back mandatory vaccination, the anti-vaxxer movement is rapidly infecting Republicans in state legislatures. Politico’s Arthur Allen reports: “Among some of these officials, that libertarian demand for medical freedom has displaced the traditional GOP view that it’s a civic responsibility to immunize your kids to prevent the spread of disease. As more politicians take an anti-mandate stand, some end up adopting bogus theories about the supposed harms of vaccination — threatening to roll back one of public health’s great achievements. In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin said vaccine mandates were un-American. In Oregon, the state party used vaccine mandates to bash Democrats as violating parental rights. And in the California Senate, all 10 Republicans last Wednesday opposed a measure aimed at stopping bogus medical exemptions from vaccination.”

-- Trump’s ban on Huawei products could cut off rural cell-service providers that depend almost entirely on the Chinese telecommunications giant. NBC News’s Phil McCausland reports: “These small telecom companies now face billions of dollars in costs or the end of their businesses entirely after the Trump administration effectively banned the Chinese company last week over spying accusations. It is a prospect that could leave vast swaths of rural America with no cell service. In response, a bipartisan group of senators proposed legislation that would create a pool of $700 million to help local carriers replace their technology. … The problem is that $700 million is not nearly enough cash.”

-- Huawei is reviewing its relationship with FedEx after claiming the American delivery company diverted two parcels destined for addresses in Asia and attempted to reroute two others. (Reuters)

-- A group that raised millions of dollars in a GoFundMe campaign to build a stretch of border wall said it has broken ground on private property. We Build the Wall, a private organization, said it has started building portions of the border wall in a New Mexico lot. Kris Kobach, who Trump just passed over for the role of immigration coordinator, is involved. (CNN)

THERE’S A BEAR IN THE WOODS:

-- Real estate mogul Franklin Haney donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee as he sought government approval and financial support for a bid to acquire a nuclear power plant in Alabama. His donation is now being scrutinized by prosecutors investigating the committee’s finances. The AP’s Richard Lardner reports: “Haney, 79, has previously faced accusations that his political gift giving is aimed at cultivating influence. An investigation by House Republicans in the late 1990s alleged that Haney’s money and his political pull with senior Clinton administration officials helped him to get the Federal Communications Commission to move into an office building that he had a major stake in. Haney denied any wrongdoing and the Justice Department declined to pursue the matter. But he was charged in 1999 with funneling about $100,000 in illegal contributions to President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and other politicians, then acquitted. A federal prosecutor described Haney as a sophisticated fundraiser who hoped to impress potential business clients with his access to elected officials, like Clinton and Gore.”

MORE ON 2020:

-- Bernie's 2020 campaign looks a lot like his 2016 campaign, challenges included. The AP’s Steve Peoples, Juana Summers and Hunter Woodall report: “Sanders is struggling with some of the same challenges that sunk his last bid: doubts about his electability, worries about support from minority voters and an opponent with deep ties to the party establishment. As some of his frustrated rivals made changes, Sanders has stuck close to the message, stump speech and campaign style that powered his failed underdog bid in 2016. … The white-haired self-described democratic socialist is well past the point of reinventing himself or his approach. Example A: As he launched his bid, his campaign told reporters he would adopt a more personal tone on the campaign trail, but Sanders quickly returned to his familiar promises to transform a rigged system that favors the rich at the expense of the working class. …

“Armed with a more diverse staff in his downtown Washington headquarters, Sanders has quietly launched a paid media campaign in several South Carolina newspapers that target African Americans. … Meanwhile, Sanders faces new headwinds in New Hampshire, a state he dominated in 2016. Local Democrats have noticed that Sanders has paid less attention to the state than virtually all his competitors so far; his Monday visit was only his third this year. And as of Monday, he had fewer paid staff on the ground there than little-known former Maryland congressman John Delaney, although more staff announcements are expected soon. Advisers note that Sanders has been particularly focused on the states that will host primary contests on the first Tuesday in March, so-called Super Tuesday. He heads to one of them, California, for a multiday swing late next week.”

-- Buttigieg is trying to claim top-tier status by juicing his second-quarter fundraising. He's pushing anyone who signs up as a bundler to bring in half their total fundraising commitment by the end of June. (Politico’s Maggie Severns)

-- Bill de Blasio raised $458,000 from 115 people who maxed out to his federal political action committee, but very few of the people who cut him $5,000 checks say they actually would vote for the New York mayor. The Times’s J. David Goodman writes: “They said they gave to Mr. de Blasio’s federal committee, known as Fairness PAC, for a variety of reasons. Some pointed to his record as mayor. Some said they did so to have a chance to talk to the mayor. Others donated after being asked by another member of their community. ‘Honestly speaking, I was asked by a co-worker if I can help, and I did,’ said Nail Capri, an executive at a roofing and restoration company who contributed $5,000 last year. In March, Mr. Capri also attended a fund-raiser for the mayor, a Democrat, that drew attendees mostly from New York’s Albanian community. So is Mr. de Blasio your candidate for president? ‘For me, personally, no,’ he said. The same could be said for a better-known $5,000 donor: the billionaire media mogul Barry Diller.”

-- Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer, is shooting for a big role in the president’s reelection campaign. Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn reports: “Now, Giuliani is being cast as someone who can reprise the 'jack-of-all-trades' role he played during the 2016 presidential campaign, helping senior aides brainstorm policy ideas and mark up speeches, introducing Trump at rallies and serving as the president’s private sounding board. It also means letting Giuliani be Giuliani during his media hits, drawing eye-rolling fact checks from reporters but giving the president a megaphone for whatever he wants to say, however politically incorrect it may be. ‘I think he can be a great warm up act,’ said the Trump campaign adviser. ‘Having him on the plane is a great idea. As a core messenger he can get sloppy with details and also leave a lot of shrapnel on the ground.’”

-- The economy is giving Trump a meaningful 2020 tail wind, concedes Steven Rattner, a former counselor to the treasury secretary during the Obama administration, in a New York Times op-ed: “But how big is that tailwind? Fortunately, economists have worked hard to develop models for predicting election outcomes, and according to one of the best of these, it should be quite large. One of the first — and perhaps still the best — of these models was created by Ray Fair, a professor at Yale. He found that the growth rates of gross domestic product and inflation have been the two most important economic predictors — but he also found that incumbency was also an important determinant of presidential election outcomes. … In short, while not perfect, the Fair model has done remarkably well. In 2008, it predicted that Barack Obama would receive 53.1 percent of the popular vote; his share actually totaled 53.7 percent. In 2012, when Mr. Obama was running for re-election, its final estimate was a vote share of 51.8 percent, just two-tenths of one percent less than what the incumbent president received.”

-- Trump is forging ahead with plans to commandeer Fourth of July festivities in the nation's capital. From ABC News’s Jordyn Phelps: “While details of the president's event have yet to be finalized, the White House is facing pushback over the security, logistical and financial strains a presidential event would add on a day where additional security protocols already are in place for the hundreds of thousands expected to flock to the Mall to picnic and watch fireworks. In addition to a presidential address, the administration has ordered that the location of the fireworks display be moved. A source familiar with planning said there have also been talks about adding additional military elements to the regular Fourth of July parade, while the president's orders for a separate, grand military parade remain on perpetual delay.”

SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

As the president paid a visit, a Wall Street Journal reporter noted this on the uniforms of some airmen:

Meghan McCain asked Amy Klobuchar to refrain from invoking her late father after the Democratic senator from Minnesota told voters in Iowa that John McCain “kept reciting” the names of dictators to her during Trump’s inaugural address:

The chief strategist of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign analyzed Trump's latest attacks on Biden:

From a Times reporter covering Trump's trip in Japan:

She also posed this question:

A Post reporter mocked some takes on the European parliamentary results:

A CNN anchor shared this powerful message for Memorial Day:

The Navy remembered those who have been lost on Memorial Day:

Lawmakers also recognized members of the military for their service:

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.), a former Navy SEAL, remembered some of his fellow service members:

A historian shared this photo of Ike's return to Normandy, France, after he led the D-Day invasion:

Hillary and Bill Clinton and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined a march in Chappaqua:

A Democratic presidential candidate offered this thought on the long weekend:

GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

-- America magazine, “The Catholic high school that holds funerals for homeless veterans,” by Michael Kotsopoulos: “I am greeted by a wooden casket hoisted on the shoulders of eight high school basketball players as I enter the lobby of Catholic Memorial School in early January. An American flag covers the casket. At 8 a.m., I expect a tired expression across the face of each young man and wonder how they will navigate the halls to the narrow chapel. But, stoic and calm, the boys looked at ease. … Kevin Durazo, the director of campus ministry, began the tradition of providing funerals for veterans with no known living friends or family two years ago when the C.M. hockey team laid to rest veteran John Fitzmaurice. The school considers it a part of its mission to welcome those on the margins into their community—an active and engaging way for an adolescent to understand the concept of empathy.”

-- The New York Times, “With His Job Gone, an Autoworker Wonders, ‘What Am I as a Man?’” by Sabrina Tavernise: “For Mr. Marsh the plant is personal, but in the three months since G.M. stopped making cars there, it has become political. A parade of presidential hopefuls has come through, using the plant to make the point that American capitalism no longer works for ordinary people. Trump has taken an interest too, berating both G.M. and the union on Twitter, and then suddenly announcing brightly in early May that the plant would be sold to a small company that few people in Lordstown had ever heard of. The news caused a stir. TV trucks showed up at the union hall. But after a few days it became clear to Mr. Marsh that the buyer — which had no experience in mass vehicle production and quarterly revenues that were less than the price of one high-end sports car — was probably not a solution.”

-- One America News Network, a pro-Trump conservative TV channel, has spent years trying to supplant Fox. It has now gained a new fan: the president himself. The Daily Beast’s Asawin Suebsaeng reports: “For the past two years, it has prolifically churned out glowing coverage of the Trump administration and its achievements. OAN’s top executives have beseeched the president on Twitter to forget about Fox and to signal-boost them instead. And in the first year of Trump’s presidency, the network produced a commercial mocking CNN’s ‘Facts First’ apple-and-banana ad campaign, and declaring OAN the ‘Real News.’ … Fox News is still the president’s favorite media behemoth. But OAN’s team has been catching his eye. This year, Trump has tuned in more often than ever to OAN, two sources close to him say. There’s been a conspicuous uptick in his public promotion of OAN’s segments, including on his personal Twitter account. And, it appears, he’s even pitching the network to those roaming the halls at Mar-a-Lago.”

HOT ON THE LEFT: “‘One bad thing that I’m guilty of’: Congressman says he took photo with enemy corpse during military service,” from Eli Rosenberg : “Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, a Republican from California, told a town hall audience Saturday that he took a picture of himself with a dead combatant during his military service, according to local media outlets — a potential violation of the United States’ rules of warfare. Hunter, a Marine Corps veteran, made the remarks while speaking about the case of Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL chief who is accused of killing an Islamic State prisoner under his care. Gallagher, who has pleaded not guilty, also took pictures next to the slain man, according to news reports. ‘Eddie did one bad thing that I’m guilty of, too — taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid,’ Hunter said.” HOT ON THE RIGHT: “A political scientist caused confusion when he made up a Trump quote. The president noticed,” from Eli Rosenberg : “Ian Bremmer, the president of the Eurasia Group and a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, tweeted a quote he attributed to Trump on Sunday afternoon. ‘President Trump in Tokyo: “Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden,” Bremmer tweeted. The tweet, styled as a direct quote, was shared by some people who did not verify it. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and CNN contributor Ana Navarro-Cárdenas shared it, according to the Washington Examiner. ‘People think they can say anything and get away with it,’ Trump tweeted Monday morning. ‘Really, the libel laws should be changed to hold Fake News Media accountable!’”

DAYBOOK:

Trump and the first lady are flying back from Japan today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is the day that makes possible all other American days. Without it and without the sacrifice we honor at patriots’ graves from the four corners of our land and overseas, there would be no other American days.” — Vice President Pence honoring fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day. ( The Hill )

NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

-- It’s a muggy day as we venture into what will probably be a rainy week. The Capitol Weather Gang forecasts: “After some morning showers and storms, heat and humidity are on the way. 90s arrive Wednesday with another hit on Thursday as humidity increases. Late-day storms Wednesday and Thursday could offer some temporary relief from the heat, but bigger relief comes with a cool front that improves Friday and carries into the weekend. However, we still need to watch for a stray shower or storm at times.”

-- The Nationals lost to the Marlins 3-2. (Sam Fortier)

-- Riders are feeling a sense of dread as Metro prepares to shut down six Blue and Yellow line stations. Kery Murakami reports: “Patrick Hearn was worrying about the coming week as he sat having a beer after work one night last week at Dos Amigos Mexican restaurant near the Braddock Road Metro station. He wasn’t thinking about the corporate fraud cases he prosecutes at the Justice Department, but about how painful it was going to be to get to and from work during the 107-day shutdown of six Blue and Yellow line stations south of Reagan National Airport for platform reconstruction. … In interviews, some of the estimated 19,000 riders who take Metro from the six stations during a typical morning commute were sorting through a vast array of travel alternatives — from taking morning local buses, VRE, Amtrak, bicycles, scooters, slug lines, carpools or one of Metro’s five shuttle routes, to even boating to work on a water taxi.”

-- A Sikh bus driver in suburban Maryland alleged years of abuse from co-workers, supervisors and students over his turban and beard. Donna St. George reports: “But 13 years into his career with the county school system, [Sawinder] Singh, 45, is turning a page on those experiences, as his lawyers and school officials settle issues raised in a complaint filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016. The agreement, expected to be announced Tuesday, includes efforts to improve cultural education and training on recognizing bias, which Singh said he hopes will lead to a greater understanding among employees and students of Sikhs and other religious minorities in the diverse school system.”

VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

Hiker Amanda Eller explained how she survived for more than two weeks after getting lost in a Hawaiian forest:

Vice President Pence delivered the commencement address at West Point:

A reporter for a CBS affiliate in Iowa had his live shot crashed: