Skip Navigation

The president vs. the governor

Wolf makes cameo in Trump's State of the Union address

  • Ed Mahon
Janiyah, left, and Stephanie Davis of Philadelphia, listens as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.

 Alex Brandon / AP Photo

Janiyah, left, and Stephanie Davis of Philadelphia, listens as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.

In today’s newsletter, we focus on a dispute between President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf over school choice. It brings to mind another interaction between the two: Back in June, Wolf appeared at a White House roundtable focused on workforce development issues. Wolf told Trump that at his old kitchen cabinet business the best workers were people who grew up on dairy farms and people looking for a second chance after serving time in prison. Trump called it a “great statement.” –Ed Mahon, PA Post reporter

Alex Brandon / AP Photo

Janiyah, left, and Stephanie Davis of Philadelphia, listen as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. In June, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill that would have expanded a tax credit program that President Donald Trump said would have benefited Janiyah. (Alex Brandon / AP Photo)

Best of the rest

 

Joseph Darius Jaafari / PA Post

Individual tampons are priced more than double what women are charged on the outside, a PA Post analysis found. (Joseph Darius Jaafari / PA Post)

  • PA Post’s Joseph Darius Jaafari combines photos, an interactive feature and deep reporting to show the high prices inmates pay for tampons, Ramen noodles, shampoo and other items from jail commissaries in Pennsylvania. The point of the story: Inmates pay more, sometimes substantially more.

  • Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators voted how you would expect on the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump. Republican Pat Toomey voted to acquit. Democrat Bob Casey Jr. voted “guilty” on obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. Mitt Romney of Utah was the only Republican senator to break with his party, as he voted guilty on the first article of impeachment, abuse of power.

  • So how will impeachment play in Pa. this fall? A few politicians told The Philadelphia Inquirer that they didn’t think voters were paying much attention … except those who were, and they’ll be fired up this fall to vote for, or against, the president’s reelection.

  • On the same day that the Senate voted to acquit, Trump’s VP, Mike Pence, visited Pennsylvania for a school-choice push in Philadelphia and a “Women for Trump” event in Cumberland County. (He also stopped at a diner in Lancaster County, LNP reports.)

  • We’ll be hosting a President’s Day Party at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 at  Zoetropolis in Lancaster. We have some fun trivia planned and we’ll be showing the comedy, “The Campaign,” starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis  (I’ve never seen it. No spoilers!). Tickets for the event are $10 and include the opportunity to win prizes and more. More information here. Hope to see you in person!


Subscribe to The Contextour weekday newsletter

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Up Next
Uncategorized

Two faces of Gov. Wolf's budget speech