Newsletter: Essential Politics: Obama vs. Trump

In a political year that’s already turned conventional wisdom on its ear, few should be surprised that President Obama isn’t following the modern tradition of largely sitting out the race to replace him.

And odds are, he’s just getting warmed up.

Good morning from the the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and the president’s opinion of Donald Trump was front and center in a news conference with the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday.

In perhaps the most pointed comment, Obama rejected the Trump message as populist.

“That’s nativism. Or xenophobia. Or worse,” he said.

Christi Parsons has the full report, including some particularly sharp jabs from Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

THE AD WAR COMETH

Meantime, both Trump and Hillary Clinton received a boost in the campaign’s battle of the airwaves.

The National Rifle Assn. launched an ad campaign assailing Clinton’s handling of the Benghazi attacks, while Clinton backers announced a $13-million TV effort focused on the battleground states of Florida and Ohio.

A reminder that you can keep up with all of the latest presidential potshots and more on our Trail Guide news feed.

CALIFORNIA KEEPS THE ‘PINK TAX’ IN PLACE

Any parent has seen it: Items in a store, from toys to clothes, that seem the same except for the fact that some are blue for boys and pink for girls — yet the prices are different.

That system looks like it’s not going anywhere for now.

As Jazmine Ulloa reports, state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) withdrew his bill this week banning businesses from charging customers different prices for similar goods on the basis of gender.

The legislation would have allowed customers to challenge prices on “substantially similar” products. But it faced strong opposition from the retail and manufacturing industry and did not make it out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

This is the final week for bills in Sacramento clear their last policy committees. Lawmakers are about to leave town for a month-long recess in July and then return for the final month of the 2016 session in August.

A TOUGH REPORT CARD FOR CALIFORNIA’S UTILITY REGULATORS

Earlier this week, we reported on a new effort to overhaul the operations and portfolio of the California Public Utilities Commission.

On Wednesday, the agency’s critics received a little more fuel for their fire.

An independent audit found that regulators signed contracts that they were not permitted to execute, failed to maintain required paperwork and paid vendors even when work was not performed to specifications.

Perhaps just as troubling for some, it was the first audit of the CPUC in 20 years.

SIT-IN SPIRIT COMES TO THE GOLDEN STATE

Across the state Wednesday, California’s congressional Democrats held events to keep the momentum going after their sit-in on the House floor last week demanding votes on two gun control measures.

While House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi rallied Bay Area members at a hospital in San Francisco, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) joined several of his colleagues at a roundtable discussion and press conference at Los Angeles City Hall.

The events highlighted the members’ effort to force a vote on legislation that would bar those on the FBI’s terror watch lists from buying guns legally and mandate comprehensive background checks on all gun purchases.

“America’s cities are becoming well known for sorrowful reasons. San Bernardino, Orlando, Charleston, Newtown, Columbine — we must do something, anything that can save even one life,” Becerra said.

“Congress owes us a vote, and if you don’t give us a vote, Congress, we’ll remember it in November.”

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— Where do politics and fishery management meet head to head? The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, writes George Skelton. It’s there, he says, that agricultural interests are trying to off big (and popular) game fish.

— Tom Steyer, the Democratic billionaire who’s everywhere these days, said Wednesday that he won’t decide whether to run for governor until after November. Steyer was in Sacramento for a rally with the United Farm Workers and later for a speech to local Democrats, thus looking a lot like someone running for office.

— Democrats from both Los Angeles and San Francisco want the Legislature to ramp up pressure on Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a homelessness state of emergency, and introduced a legislative resolution on Wednesday calling on him to take action.

— House Republicans are asking the Obama administration to block the California Legislature’s attempt to allow people in the country illegally to purchase health insurance through the state’s insurance exchange.

— The white supremacist group at the center of a bloody melee last weekend at the state Capitol is reportedly making plans to travel to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention next month.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

A quick programming note that the newsletter will take a brief holiday break on Friday and Monday, with Christina Bellantoni kicking off an abbreviated week of Essential Politics on Tuesday, July 5.

LOGISTICS

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