TheChat: Jay Nixon touts new trade deal with Cuba

Good morning.

▪ “Quite frankly, when we sell things abroad it means jobs at home.” — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on the trade deal he struck in Cuba during his recent visit.

Missouri exported $13.6 billion in goods last year, up from $9.5 billion when he assumed office in 2009. Nixon says this was his 13th foreign trade mission during his two terms in office.

▪ “There's still a significant problem we have as it relates to biased-based policing.” — NAACP St. Louis chapter president Adolphus Pruitt on a new report that Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster issued that showed that black drivers were nearly 70 percent more likely than whites to get stopped by the police last year.

The numbers suggest a slight improvement over the past 12 months.

▪ “I hope this is the final wake-up call and that the governor and my colleagues will finally deal with the structural issues inherent in our current system.” — Kansas state Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, on the latest revenue shortfall in Kansas.

Revenues were off by $76 million in May, a staggering sum that likely will trigger more cuts by Gov. Sam Brownback. He’s issued no hints that he will head in the direction that Kelly suggests.

▪ “Everything that Trump is, McConnell led the charge.” — Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid attempting to tie Senate Republicans to Donald Trump.

Reid said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump have “cuddled up together.” Reid’s point: McConnell is enabling Trump.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 6:27 AM.