SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

IT'S OFFICIAL! – FROM THE HILL:   Former talk-show host Phil Donahue on Saturday reflected on President Trump's administration, calling it "the darkest political moment in American history."  “This is the darkest political moment in American history,” Donahue said on MSNBC Saturday. “Who’s going to argue that?”  Well, now that Phil Donahue has said it, I'm certainly not going to disagree.  I always put the Civil War at number one, but I'll change it.

ALWAYS GOING FOR THE BEST – THAT IS A JOKE – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  The Democrats’ “Great Freshman Hope,” Sen. Kamala Harris, is heading to the Hamptons to meet with Hillary Clinton’s biggest backers.  The California senator is being fêted in Bridgehampton on Saturday at the home of MWWPR guru Michael Kempner, a staunch Clinton supporter who was one of her national-finance co-chairs and a led fund-raiser for her 2008 bid for the presidency. He was also listed as one of the top “bundlers” for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, having raised $3 million.  Guests there to greet Harris are expected to include Margo Alexander, a member of Clinton’s inner circle; Dennis Mehiel, a Democratic donor who is the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, even though he lives between a sprawling Westchester estate and an Upper East Side pad; designer Steven Gambrel and Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman.  The party of the people gathers again.  I'm sure this group has its collective finger on the pulse of working families.  And what do those peasants out there want?  Why, they must certainly wish for tofu and solar panels.  That's right, isn't it? 

HAULIN' IT IN – FROM FOX:   The Trump campaign and fundraising committees raised $13.9 million between the start of April and the end of June.  The numbers are close to three quarters of a million more than in the first three months of 2017.  Donations have continued to grow in spite of the administration's struggles with nearly constant accusations that the campaign colluded with Russia during campaign season.  The campaign and two joint fundraising committees (Trump Victory and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee) fundraised for both Trump and the Republican National Committee.  Three donations stood out in the most recent numbers from the Federal Election Commission.  Individual donors who had not previously donated more than $50,000 to Trump gave $300,000, $600,000, and $100,000.  President Trump's campaign meanwhile spent only $4.37 million in the second quarter.  Despite a press onslaught, Trump is holding his own.  He has historically underpolled, and I get the feeling he's much more popular than the pundits think. 

July 15, 2017