Stay tuned after the show for a message from the American Beverage Association.

Good Thursday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing.

I'm Anna Palmer. President Donald Trump views himself as a modern-day racial justice crusader on par with only the likes of Abraham Lincoln.

He says the military has never been stronger than it is now. He has suggested

that Joe Biden is out of touch with reality, and he will win the election in less than five months

quite easily. The rest of the world sees the situation quite a bit differently. Jim Mattis

became the highest profile former Trump administration official to say the president is unfit for office.

He spoke to the Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeff Goldberg for a stunning piece about his feelings about his

former boss. Mark Esper, the current defense secretary, has split with Trump over using troops on

American streets. Mark Millie, the chairman of the Joint Chief, sent a letter to military brass,

reminding them they took a note to support and defend the Constitution and the values embedded

within it. For a sixth straight night, protest filled the streets of Washington, especially

outside the White House, though the Washington Post notes the crowds dispersed early last night.

The president slipping in the polls and states he won by wide margins four years

ago. The New York Times is reporting that Trump's campaign polling shows that he's well behind Biden,

and several public polls found Trump trailing Biden by double-digit margins. Trump is also

losing to Biden in Arizona, 46 to 42, according to a new Fox News poll. Senator Martha McSally, the Republican from

Arizona, is getting trounced by Mark Kelly, 50 to 37. A few things to watch for today. Republican

senators are going to come under enormous pressure to respond to Mattis, who is one of the most

revered military leaders in contemporary times, watch for senators

like Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton for their response. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will

probably have no observations, as he typically says, when he doesn't want to answer questions like this.

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