By Emily Goodin

President Trump remains on vacation this week but there has been no shortage of news from the commander-in-chief: from his response to the events in Charlottesville to his attacks on Republican Sens. Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham.

RealClearPolitics’ Caitlin Huey-Burns notes the president is “isolated from rank and file Republicans, business and community leaders, and former presidents” in the wake of his controversial comments on racial violence. http://bit.ly/2v7B4dF

While Trump’s remarks have Republicans shaking their heads, GOP senators will not react kindly to an attack on one of their own by their president. Trump tweeted his support for Flake’s primary opponent on Thursday. It’s unprecedented for a president to support a challenger from the same party to a sitting lawmaker.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Flake’s fellow Arizona senator, John McCain, tweeted their support for Flake following Trump’s attack. Sen. Cory Gardner, who heads the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, promised Flake the support of the NRSC.

The upper chamber reconvenes in Washington on Sept. 5 and it will be interesting to watch how Trump’s actions affect relations among GOP senators, whom he needs to pass a budget, enact tax reform, and to do something on health care.

Today Trump will have lunch with Vice President Pence and his National Security Council at Camp David to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

Topics du Jour

TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: The president’s job approval is at a negative-16.2 points in the RCP Polling Average. http://bit.ly/2slB9gm
 

PREPPING FOR 2020: RCP’s Rebecca Berg talks with Rep. John Delaney  about his presidential bid. “Democrats can’t win by just attacking Trump. We really have to show the American people there’s a better way,” he said. http://bit.ly/2xazQQ9

FIGHT OVER DEFENSE BUDGET: RealClearDefense Pentagon correspondent Sandra Erwin notes that after Trump said he will seek “many billions of dollars” to shore up U.S. anti-missile defenses, “the next step would be to send a budget amendment to Capitol Hill that Congress would have to squeeze into an already packed fiscal agenda. The president’s request is certain to rekindle criticism from congressional defense hawks that the Pentagon’s 2018 budget shortchanged missile defense.” https://tinyurl.com/y6w6tw33

Erwin also reports on concerns the U.S. is not ready for another cyberattack: “To deter future attacks, experts warn, the United States needs to shore up its defenses and upend the perception that its systems are easy prey.” https://tinyurl.com/yckugo27

THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE: RealClearPolicy editor Tony Mills spotlights the key findings of his “Future of the Administrative State” podcast: “First, our federal government does not function as well as it should — and the administrative state is a significant part of the reason why. In particular, there is insufficient and ineffective oversight of administrative agencies. Second, this state of affairs is at least in part the fault of Congress, which has weakened its own power over the decades. Third, there is no simple legislative, administrative, or judicial cure for what ails our government.” https://tinyurl.com/y8ovsb8y

TOUGH TIMES IN MACADONIA: RealClearWorld editor Joel Weickgenant looks at the political situation in the Balkan nation: “There is no easy path. But an opportunity has opened up for the West in Macedonia, a country within Europe, 600-odd miles from Vienna. If the West doesn’t figure out its act in the Balkans, plenty of other outside actors already are.” https://tinyurl.com/ya9jhgeq

In Other Originals

SPEAKING WITH SASSE: RealClearFuture editor Rob Tracinski talks to Sen. Ben Sasse about topics ranging from the impact of automation to the technological revolution in agricultural to education reform to the challenges of teaching young people a sense of resilience and self-reliance—which is the topic of his new book, “The Vanishing American Adult.” http://bit.ly/2xaPKKr
 

POLICE AND TERRORISM: At RealClearWorld, Robert Zaretsky examines the situation in France and argues that using soldiers to assist police forces in warding off terrorist threats may be having an opposite effect. https://tinyurl.com/yaerber8
 

EYE ON NORTH KOREA: At RealClearDefense, retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks writes on the threat from North Korea: “Even if one takes issue with what is perceived as brinksmanship on the part of President Trump, the North’s threats and provocations going back nearly 70 years cannot be ignored. They need to be better managed. Kim wants his country to be recognized as a nuclear power. If the U.S., working closely with China, South Korea, Japan, Russia, and other countries, grudgingly extends that recognition then Kim will have the responsibility to behave like a responsible stakeholder and not the petulant ‘little general’ he has been up until now. He needs to understand the total economic isolation that could threaten his survival will be of his own making.” https://tinyurl.com/ydeg9gnk
 

EDUCATIONAL STANDOUTS: At RealClearEducation, Vince Bertram, the president and CEO of Project Lead the Way, advises schoolchildren: “Instead of being a commodity – one of tens of millions of potential employees with a college degree for which there may not be a demand – students should aim to be a specialty product. A specialty product stands out from the masses by possessing features and skills others don’t offer, and in doing so commands a higher price.” https://tinyurl.com/ya7z5xhm
 

SUMMER SPORTS: At RealClearSports, Jill Dorson reviews Tim Raines’ autobiography, “Rock Solid: My Life in Baseball’s Fast Lane”: “Raines does not disappoint in terms of giving readers not only an inside look at life as a professional baseball player, but also an inside look at the thoughts, feelings, and sometimes conflicting emotions that go hand-in-hand with being an elite athlete.” https://tinyurl.com/ybtv5hlt
 
And, in his new column, “The Extra Point,” RealClearSports editor Cory Gunkel makes the case for college football: “This sport gives the little guy a reason to cheer; to hold his (or her) head high and punch back at those with more money, more resources, and more advantages.” https://tinyurl.com/yaxzsps2